Tag Archive for: change

The story behind Chrome

The SIDECAR founders wrote Chrome a couple years ago to distill our principals on branding and marketing.

In reviewing the book, I had that flashback moment to the early days of my practice. It’s the experience I wrote about in the introduction. It’s always humbling and gratifying to rea

d it because it’s a reminder of how far we’ve come at SIDECAR and how fortunate I’ve been. 

At any rate, I wanted

 to share that experience with you from the introduction.  

Here you go: 

I wrote Chrome because I believe that your business can shine without advertising. Really shine. 

I know what you’re thinking: ‘That’s easy for you to say. You already have a successful practice.’ Trust me, it wasn

’t always that way. 

I can still remember the internal struggle I felt trying to convince myself to get out of the shower in the mornings. Faced with the challenge of piecing back together the mess I had made in my business and the struggles it placed on my personal life. 

I remember lying in bed at night and not sleeping, for days. The constant dialogue going on between my ears as I tried to find solutions to all the daily problems. 

I remember having an office full of billing staff; not making any money and being constantly barraged with problems we created. 

I remember thinking that the answer was an influx of new patients, and trying everything to accomplish that: doing spinal screenings, hosting dinners with the doctor, and pedaling every community event trying to spread my business. And while those new patients made me work harder – a lot harder – things didn’t get any better. 

I’ll never forget my wake-up call. 

I was confronted by the person I had abdicated my financial operations to with alarming news. He alerted me to the fact that we weren’t going to make payroll that week. I looked at him, a little bewildered, and told him that we would be ok, just let the line of credit take care of the short fall for the week. 

He told me the line of credit was maxed. 

My $200,000 line of credit was maxed out! 

After all the hard work – all the hours I had put into my business – I was $200,000 in the wrong direction. 

I realized at that moment that I had to change. Nothing was going to get better until I got better. That defining moment led to where we are today. 

The concepts are simple but that doesn’t mean the process is easy! The steps to build your brand and a world-class patient experience are simple, but the time and the hustle it takes to accomplish it isn’t easy! 

The steps to improve your communication skills with patients is simple, but the process of changing your behavior, leaving your agenda at the door, and connecting on an individual basis isn’t easy! 

But what I discovered is that doing it on your own is impossible. Chrome contains everything I’ve learned about branding, marketing, and advertising a chiropractic business. It’s the road map I followed to pay off my student loans, climb out of debt, impact my community, and enterprise my business to include several office locations. In short, it’s how I resurrected my chiropractic dream. 

I know it can do the same for you. 

 

Chrome

 

 

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Landscape on the Box

Have you ever felt like you did everything right and still did not get the results you were hoping for? I know I have felt this way many times and when it happens I am left wondering what went wrong. So, why is it that if we do a task exactly like were told to do it, sometimes it does not provide the end results that we desire?

I remember when I was a young boy my brothers and I loved to work on putting together puzzles. It would start out by picking out a puzzle at the store. We would look at all the boxes on the shelves and pick the one that had the coolest picture or the most beautiful landscape on the box. We would then take the puzzle home and pour out all the pieces onto a table and set the box up in a place where we could see how the finished product would look. Piece by piece we would start to assemble the puzzle until each piece was put into it’s rightful place. The task of putting together the puzzle had an endpoint that we could visualize and each piece had it’s own particular place where we knew it belonged. Now, putting together the puzzle took patience but I knew if I did the task of getting each puzzle piece into its right place we would end up with the “landscape on the box.”

Sometimes, I wish life was more like putting together a puzzle. How nice would it be if we could just put together our life piece by piece with the guarantee that we would end up with the beautiful “landscape on the box?” Unfortunately, our lives are a little more complex than the puzzle pieces that fit just right! In life, our success is determined not only by the tasks we perform but also by the depth and breadth of the relationships we develop with others. Relationships are messy, multi-faceted and take work! Relationships don’t work like puzzle pieces and always fit together just right in one pattern. Relationships involve people of all different walks of life who carry different belief systems and possess different wants and needs. Relationship building takes time, adaptability, and a willingness to recognize each other’s individual desires. It involves looking at things from more than one angle, not just at the beautiful landscape on the box! Building relationships is about connecting! As nice as it would be, you can’t just “task” your way to better relationships! You also can’t task your way to success! Tasking without connecting is useless! If you want your life to end up looking like the “landscape on the box”, start connecting instead of just tasking!

Dr. Nathan UnruhDr. Nathan Unruh of SIDECAR

PS: This may be difficult to swallow for all you “taskers” out there. I know you’re wanting the checklist of “how to connect.” Stay tuned…

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There’s Just Not Enough Time!

Have you ever felt like there just wasn’t enough time in the day to accomplish everything you set out to do?

Everyone has the same amount of time. Barring any event that reduces or ends the amount of life someone experiences, time is constant.

Let’s do the math:

  • 24 hours per day
  • 168 hours per week
  • 8,760 hours per year

As long as you and I are both alive, we’ve got the same amount of time.

The Truth

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average person spends three hours per day watching T.V. Three hours per day equates to 21 hours per week. This ultimately adds up to 1,095 hours per year!

12.5% of an entire year spent watching T.V.

You may be thinking, “That’s not me, I don’t watch that much T.V.!”

What about time spent on your cell phone? Social Media, Messaging, Internet usage… Most reports done show that the average person spends around four hours per day on their phone!

The point that I’m trying to make here is this: You have plenty of time to accomplish what you truly want to accomplish.

Television

The average person spends 12.5% of each year watching television.

Subtraction

If you are feeling pressed for time and constantly find yourself “running out”; re-examine exactly where you are allocating your time. The key to improving your efficiency and ultimately growing is through subtraction. Success is never about adding; it’s always about subtracting! Subtract anything that is not aligning you closer to your vision. Eliminate the wasteful screen time spent on TV or your cell phone.

You might be thinking, “I don’t waste time!” My response? Business does not equal productivity.

If you feel you are being efficient with your time but still don’t have enough, examine the tasks you are performing.  

A great principle that we teach at SIDECAR is the one-minute principle. This principle helps to identify exactly how much time you may be wasting in your day. Taking inventory of your time will help to expose growth areas.

Here’s some perspective: every great idea, product, event, or thing that has ever occurred on this Earth stemmed from a person who had the same amount of time that you do!

You have plenty of time. Start making the most of it.

Let’s Ride!

Dr. Nathan UnruhDr. Nathan Unruh, CXO SIDECAR

To find out more about the one-minute principle and how to apply it to your business give us a call at 1-877-727-2705.

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Teaching Your Employees the Importance of “Playing Hurt”

Instilling the concept of “Playing Hurt vs. Playing Injured” in your company culture is crucial in your ability to lead your team effectively.

How many times have you told yourself or your employees to “Rub some dirt on it!” or “Shake it off!” in the last few months?

What I hope to illustrate in today’s blog is defining the concept of “Playing Hurt vs. Playing Injured” and how you can incorporate this lesson into your company culture.

Playing Hurt

Being hurt is challenging. When you’re feeling under the weather it’s easy to head back to bed and chalk the day up as a loss. However, as the leader of your business you must come to a quick realization. Ultimately, you set the tone for your company and are directly in charge of your company’s culture.

If you have a stuffy nose or don’t feel quite right, you can still go to work. You can go to work and you can perform to the standards you’ve set for yourself and your employees. A majority of the time it comes down to your mindset. You don’t have a choice, you have a responsibility to the people you serve. This is the mindset you need to instill in your company culture.

Playing Injured

Playing Injured is a different story. If you or your employee is in rough shape and has no capability of performing the required work duties; then it’s probably not safe to come in to work. The reality of this situation is that it is rare! Encouraging a healthy lifestyle to your team will help combat the likelihood of this occurring. If an employee is constantly “injured” you may need to step in as a leader and help resolve other situations in that employee’s life.

Teaching Your Team to Play Hurt

If you’re under these people, you’re probably injured!

The Small Business Reality

99.7% of all businesses in the United States are small businesses. Your business falls into this category. A small business is going to struggle to grow if it is consistently missing 25-50% of their workforce. Understand the magnitude of missing one employee when you consistently operate with a team of less than five people.

Set the edges with your employees and lay the guidelines for what you tolerate. You can play hurt; you can’t play injured. At the end of the day it’s not about you; it’s about the team coming together to work towards your business’s vision.

When an employee is out of the office for whatever reason. Have Plan B ready to go. If that doesn’t work try Plan C. Whatever your plan may be, just get the job done. If you need to have PRN staff, a bullpen of candidates available at a moment’s notice: your spouse, kids, uncle, neighbor… Establish a pool of individuals that know what to do and can operate in your business in a bind.

 

Dr. Nathan Unruh Dr. Nathan Unruh, CXO, SIDECAR

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Spectators and Players

In your business, you can choose to be a spectator or a player. Which one are you?

I talk with a lot of doctors and business people who have elaborate plans for their future. They tell me about their great ideas and the things that they want to do. Most of the time, these plans remain just that, plans! At SIDECAR we refer to this stage as “getting ready to get ready”.

The common theme when I talk with these types of people is that they always have something to say about those in their field that are out doing things. They remind me of spectators watching an event take place. These people are riddled with opinions including things like: “Why didn’t he do this?” or “Why didn’t she see that?” They tend to think that they understand the game quite well from there vantage point.

Spectators Everywhere

I tend to find that there are a lot more spectators than there are players on the field these days. The reality of the situation is this: the players, people partaking in the event, are the ones making the difference. These people are training to win and are willing to take a position in front of the spectators, put on their best performance, take any criticism they receive, and build on it.

There are always going to be spectators. Not all spectators are bad, they are a necessity for the game to take place. However, if you find yourself thinking like a player but acting like a spectator, that’s when problems arise.

Spectators vs Players

There’s always going to be more spectators.

Which one are you?

Are you a player or are you a spectator? Are you willing to put your best foot forward and take action even though you may not have all the details worked out? Players are constantly training and improving so when it comes time to hit the field they are ready. Players understand that regardless of how well trained they are, during the performance unforeseeable things can take place and require adaptation. The more the player trains the better he or she will be at handling the unforeseeable circumstances.

The spectator has a pretty cushy job. He gets to sit in a spot way up high where he can see it all, snack on some popcorn, and proclaim his opinion to all those around him.

If you desire to be a player, lose the mindset and work ethic of a spectator.

A coach once told me, “Players make plays, players win games.”

Dr. Nathan UnruhDr. Nathan Unruh, CXO SIDECAR

 

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Work vs. Hustle

You can recapture the joy in your business and life by learning the difference between “working” and “hustling”. 

I love basketball. I started playing when I was a child and continued through college. The game has always been a passion of mine. Even though my playing days are over I still hold a tremendous appreciation for the nuances of the game. Extraordinary games of basketball always showcase great coaching, teamwork, and talent. To this day, it’s hard for me to turn away from a collegiate matchup between two historic powerhouses.

One of the things you’ll notice about the big-time games is the amount of hustle that each team displays. Whether it’s sprinting down the court or diving on the floor for loose balls, the amount of hustle displayed is unbelievable. Watching an entire team execute on their goals with high levels of hustle is a beautiful thing.

The Meaning of Hustle

“Hustle” has been a buzzword in the entrepreneurial business world for a while now. What exactly does it mean? What is “hustle”? How does it differ from “work”? The basketball players are all “working” to achieve a common goal, but are they all “hustling”, too?

In basketball, the word “hustle” is most commonly used to describe a play of extraordinary effort. If a player goes the extra mile they are commended for great “hustle”. However, ask any great player about “hustle” and they rarely even acknowledge it. Usually, the response will be along the lines of “I’m just doing my job”. You see, the player doesn’t view the extra effort as extraordinary at all. To the outside world, it appears as an obvious case of exceptional effort; something that can be pointed to and labeled as “hustle”. To the player, it’s merely a by-product of the love of the game.

The Difference Between Work and Hustle

At some point in our lives, all of us have had to “work”. It may have been doing chores as a child, or studying for a class you weren’t particularly interested in during your schooling. You might have not developed and possessed your vision, yet. If you did, the acts of work you were performing may not have been aligned with your vision. Ultimately, your vision dictates the difference between working and hustling. You know when you’re “working”. Whatever it is you are doing isn’t aligned with your vision and odds are it’s taxing you! When you’re “working” you are busy with tasks, but never actually getting anything done. When you’re “hustling” you are executing and able to accomplish things that matter and contribute to your success. You are energized and every time you execute on something it gives you a boost to continue to pursue your vision.

So, are you “working” or are you “hustling”? If all your effort and time is devoted to an ultimate goal and aligned with your vision, then you’re “hustling”. If people are starting to take notice of your extraordinary effort and results, you’re “hustling”. If you’re not focused and are simply completing task after task, you’re “working”.

“Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.” 

– Abraham Lincoln 

Understand the nuances of this concept. The basketball player doesn’t have to think about giving extra effort before he or she jumps into the stands for the ball. In their mind, anyone in that same position would do the exact same thing. You can’t continue to waste your time “working” and just start calling it “hustling”. Everything you do day in and day out has to be aligned with your vision. You’re wasting your life if you don’t.

Stop working. Start hustling.

Dr. Nathan UnruhDr. Nathan Unruh, CXO SIDECAR

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The Titration Effect and Your Business

You never know which action you take is going to result in your breakthrough. Intentional effort in everything you do will result in reaching higher levels of success.

If you’ve ever been to a swimming pool you may have seen a lifeguard or pool employee checking the chemical balance of the water. The process used to analyze the water is a method known as titration.

The basics of the titration process are as follows. The person checking the pool uses drops of different test chemicals to assess the chemical levels of the water. By adding the test chemicals one drop at a time, the employee can determine the exact chemical level of the water based on the number of drops it takes to change the color of the water. Once the water changes color, the person stops adding drops and is able to calculate the answer.

What Can Titration Teach Us?

What may surprise you about titration is the lesson it can teach us regarding our business and life in general. With titration, the person performing the test does not know exactly which drop is going to trigger the result. It may be the first, 10th, or 50th drop before the answer is revealed.

Now, if you were to have a group of school children watch someone perform this experiment and ask them which drop caused the change in the water color, the majority would say the last drop! By thinking critically about this scenario, we understand that without any of the drops before it, the result would not be achieved. Therefore, each drop is just as important as the next!

Titration effect

Every single drop matters

Drip by Drip

You never know which action you take is going to lead to the results you are pursuing. What we do know is that little by little, over time, the actions you take will amount to a result. If you stop taking action because you’re not seeing results or you think you’re never going to reach your goals; you could be one action away from your breakthrough.

This example can apply to the health of our patients as well. Who knows if the patient’s health crisis was triggered by the first cigarette or the hundredth? The first greasy meal or the last one?

To see results and achieve success you’ve got to take constant, intentional action. Every drip matters. Consistency is key and the more drips you can make the sooner you can start to see results.

Drip by drip, action by action.

Let’s Ride!

Dr. Douglas Sea, SIDECAR

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Lombardi Time

One of the truly great coaches of all time, Vince Lombardi, is well-known for leading the Green Bay Packers to multiple Super Bowl Championships. To this day, the winning team of the Super Bowl receives the prized Lombardi Trophy. One of the many things Lombardi is known for includes the speech he would give at the first practice of every season. He would start his speech by holding up a football and stating, “Gentlemen, this is a football” before going on to discuss the fundamentals of the game.

In studying history, what I truly find remarkable is the consistent theme of leadership that holds true regardless of the era or generation. There are certain characteristics of leaders that transcend time. Vince Lombardi was a student of fundamentals. At SIDECAR, you will hear us preach the importance of fundamentals in your business. Fundamentals serve as the foundation: the stronger and deeper your foundation, the larger your business can grow and scale.

One fundamental that Lombardi instilled in his teams is what is referred to today as “Lombardi Time”. Under Lombardi’s instruction, if a practice was scheduled to begin at 9:00, you were expected to be on the field, dressed and ready five minutes prior. Essentially, you were ready to be ready for that day’s practice.

The concept of “Lombardi Time” can be used in your office as well. If you are scheduled to begin your shift at 9:00 A.M. you should be in the office five minutes prior ready to take on the day. Now, most techs begin the day with administrative or paper-time responsibilities. Lombardi Time doesn’t mean you start those duties five minutes early. What it does mean is that you make sure you are fully ready to embrace those duties before 9:00 A.M.

If you or a team member regularly struggles with getting ready for the day, or if getting to work on time proves to be a challenge, try installing Lombardi Time in your business.

Dr. SeaDr. Douglas Sea

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8.4%

We’ve all heard the phrase, “every second counts.” This statement is true. We all know how valuable our time is. On the contrary, we also know that one bad day doesn’t make a bad week, one bad week doesn’t make a bad month, one bad month doesn’t make a bad year, and one bad year doesn’t make a bad career. The same holds true for a good day, week, month, or year!

I love looking at numbers. Remember, that which can’t be measured can’t be managed! So how can we quantify a month? A month is approximately 8.4% of one year. 8.4% is a funny number, depending on how you look at it can make it appear like a large or small portion of time. I’m not sure whether it’s a small or large number, but one thing I do know is that 8.4% is significant. When that 8.4% is gone, it’s gone!

So, how did the last 8.4% of your year go?

If it went well, great! That’s 8.4% of your year marked up as a success! Did it not go so well? That’s alright! You’re out that 8.4%, but there’s still plenty of opportunity to make up ground!

Statisticians have determined that 87% of people give up on a goal they set after only one month. After only 8.4% of the year; almost nine out of ten people give up on their goals.

Perspective is powerful. Understand how much value each month brings to you and your business. Commit to your goals and be a part of the 13% that follows through on them!

Dr. Nathan UnruhDr. Nathan Unruh, CXO SIDECAR

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Be the Stream

In life you can be the stream and dictate your actions, or you can choose to stay stagnant. 

A stream is a small body of water that is constantly flowing. The stream is always running, continuously moving; it never stops. Around corners, through trees, the stream carves its own path. The stream slowly erodes and creates its own route. Even large rocks are no match for the consistent flowing water of the stream.

You need to be the stream in your life. Keep moving, keep pushing, strive for more. Remain consistent in everything you do and watch as you erode obstacles and create your own path. A stream never stops to take a rest. You can’t afford to rest, either. Over time a stream will wear out anything in its path; you need to possess the same demeanor.

A stream is active, it creates movement and generates action. The rock is passive. The only action the rock experiences is done unto it by another force. Eventually, the rock gives way to the desires of the stream.

Comfy Rocks

Are you stuck being a rock? Have you found yourself a “comfy” spot on the river bed where you’re safe from the flowing stream? I hate to break it to you but that stream’s time will come and you will be at the mercy of the stream! Outside circumstances, perhaps a large rain storm, may cause the stream to expand its reach and suddenly sweep you under.

Do you see the paradox here? If you’re the stream and it starts to rain, you’re going to pick up speed and start moving faster and creating a bigger path for yourself. If you’re the rock, you will be at the mercy of a larger, faster stream.

The opposite is also true, if the weather dries up your stream may become smaller. None the less, the stream will continue to flow and move until it is replenished.

You need to be the stream. There are enough rocks idly sitting by in your market and community. Differentiate yourself and make a difference by creating your own path.

Intention. Effort. Action.

Keep Flowing!

Dr. Nathan UnruhDr. Nathan Unruh, CXO SIDECAR

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